BKN301 Championship: La Fiorita on top, stalemate between Virtus and Tre Penne

With leaders Cosmos resting, several teams had the chance to aim for top spot in the BKN301 San Marino Championship. In the Saturday early fixtures of Matchday 8, La Fiorita took full advantage with a narrow win over Fiorentino, reclaiming first place in the table. The first half produced chances at both ends: first Palazzi hit the post directly from a corner, then Castellazzi struck the bar for the reds and blues. The deadlock was broken shortly before the interval when a fine cross from Grandoni found Bartolini, who headed in for 1-0 to the yellow and blues. In the second half Fiorentino pushed through Colagiovanni, both hero and villain for the rossoblù: within a few minutes he was booked, then crashed a free-kick off the crossbar and finally saw a second yellow card on 62 minutes. La Fiorita held firm and came away with a precious victory. Plenty of balance and no goals instead in the big match in Montecchio between Virtus and Tre Penne. The two defences, marshalled excellently by Migani and Passaniti, stood up to the attacking threats and in the end the draw satisfied neither side, but kept both of them in the upper reaches of the table. A zone where Tre Fiori are trying to establish themselves, beating Murata 1-0 to claim a third straight win. The decisive goal for the yellow and blues came on 37 minutes through Gjurchinoski, sharp in taking advantage of De Falco’s quickly taken free-kick and beating Mattia Manzaroli with a powerful right-footed strike. Tre Fiori move up to 16 points, level with Cosmos. Marco Bucci with the BKN301 MVP award for the month of October (©FSGC) By contrast, Libertas are three games without a win after being held to a draw by Cailungo. Everything happened after the break: first Pesaresi hit the crossbar from close range – following a great save by Benedettini – then it was the rossoverdi (wearing purple today) who broke the deadlock thanks to a fine solo effort by Bara, who pierced the yellow and blue backline. Libertas refused to give in and pushed hard for an equaliser, which could have arrived on 78 minutes from the penalty spot: Aruci attempted a Panenka, but Benedettini stayed alert and saved from twelve yards. Late on, however, the leveller did come after sustained pressure ended with Sapori’s right-footed effort nestling in the corner for the final 1-1. Libertas could at least take comfort from Marco Bucci, who before kick-off was presented with the BKN301 MVP award for the month of October.   An important win – the third in a row – for Faetano in Friday’s early game against San Giovanni. The star of the match was Marseljan Mema, formerly of San Giovanni themselves. Fresh from an excellent performance with the San Marino national team in Bulgaria, the forward scored two crucial goals for his side in the second half: the first came from the penalty spot on 52 minutes, the second on 90 minutes with a fine angled finish after an assist from Composto. Matchday 8 of the BKN301 San Marino Championship continues with the final two fixtures scheduled for tomorrow: Pennarossa-Domagnano (15:00, Fiorentino) and Folgore-Juvenes-Dogana (15:00, Montecchio). As always, all matches will be available to watch on Titani.tv.    

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